Year Identification

[Rikugun]

I was replying to a thread by hartless today and started with a useless quip and followed with some comments regarding the petcock. I ended up deleting the latter leaving the not so helpfull former. Why? My (limited) knowledge base is 82's and I don't know what year Hartless has. I believe the two petcocks to be different possibly rendering my comments of little value. I looked at his profile and some prior posts but didn't see it.

I have a suggestion and would like to know the group's thoughts. I belong to a GPz 550 forum and when a newbie introduced himself, the moderator welcomed them and then requested they add the year and mods to the signature/avatar. That way, someone replying to a post could give more specific info. The V only ran (US) for 2 years but still there are significant differences. I often find myself having to ask for clarification on what year (or country of origin) the discussion is about.

As a side note, I wouldn't mind if more people added their location to their profile. Many senior members know each other but it would be helpfull to the rest of us.

[QBS]

What Rikugun said plus, if no one volunteers to be moderator, we could have an understood standing policy that whenever someone responds to a poster that they recognize as a newbie, they should encourage the newbie to give us the year of the bike, and provide location data.  Another Vnary may live close at hand and prove helpful.

[Re-Vision]

Age of the Visionary is important,answers for an eighteen year old student and a forty something rider will tend to be different. Listen up newbies, tell us who you are and your age, what you ride, and what part of the world you're from and you are likely to have a better rapport with everyone else. Just my two cents worth, not trying to run anyone off.    BDC

[The Prophet of Doom]

A great idea. In most forums, identification of equipment in the sig is a firm rule, as it cuts down the amount of inappropriate advice given.  Please remember though there are a good DOZEN different models of the XZ, not just those that were marketed in the US.  model codes would be much more revealing than years.

[Raj1988]

Age of the Visionary is important,answers for an eighteen year old student and a forty something rider will tend to be different.

Sorry RV, I disagree with this statement and the principle behind it. I understand what you are getting at but I strongly feel that advise should not be withheld or tailored due your perception of how competent a new ROV is. I have known 40yr old riders that couldnt swap out brake rotors and i know 18 yr olds that could rebuild my car engine quicker than you could say greenhorn. This 'Vision' we ride is a Machine, There is a right way to fix problems that arise and this does not change with age..

Suraj

21 yrs old, Incompetent with a wrench but I manage thanks to this forum and the ONROV.

[Re-Vision]

Raj, I agree with what you say about mechanical competency as I know some young folks are more knowledgeable than myself. I think you have misconstrued my intentions, it would be just as easy to offend a seventy-five year old Visionary if I assumed he wasn't a competent rider. Knowing the age and sex of the person with whom you are conversing will help you to tailor a more intelligent reply. I try not to discriminate against ignorance whether its found in the young or old, I admit to knowing very little about motorcycles and most of what I know I've learned in the past year right here at ROV.    BDC


Sixty-nine years old and trying to help others just as they've helped me.

[Lucky]

Over the last ten years or so I've watched hundreds of posters, (& i haven't been here the longest, not by a long shot) & i've learned something I find very, very, interesting: 

There are some people who have the ability to read, do & soak up information lightnenig fast...  coupled with pervious experience, some people can become experts in a very short time.  i'm not talking about someone who thinks they know it all, i mean they really know their sh:t!

I just thought that was interesting, lol

I agree with the previous posters, it would help reduce the occasional faux par.. (guilty)

--Lucky

[YellowJacket!]

We used to have an "introduction" thread long ago. I think its now archived.  Most of the members used the thread to introduce themselves and tell us a little info about them and their bike and we would welcome them to the forum.

David

[Rikugun]

I don't want to put anyone on the spot but there are 2 members right above this post who are here often, are fair and even-tempered, and have significant knowledge of V's. Either would make a fine moderator. There are a few others but these two are definitely on the short list.

[Brian Moffet]

Either would make a fine moderator.

I'm actually surprised you think the group needs a moderator. And, I think that would probably be up to the owner of the group (what's his name, Ron? :) )... As far as introductions, they happen occasionally. Like you (rikugun) I have posted some information that turned out to be incorrect for the bike the other person has.  It happens and usually gets cleared up fairly quickly.

Brian

[Rikugun]

Thanks for all the great responses so far. Some of them I expected and some offered a perspective I hadn't considered. Such as:

Knowing the age and sex of the person with whom you are conversing will help you to tailor a more intelligent reply.

This one had me examining my own prejudices. I read through it initially in total agreement but then had to stop and ask "what difference should it make as to the age and sex of the poster?" I can argue either side of this (as I love to play the devil's advocate!) but I have to consider that it shouldn't matter at all. I don't agree that info should be withheld or dummied down to the perceived knowledge base of the person asking a question. If a poster doesn't understand an answer it's up to them to ask for clarification.

Regarding moderators - I made reference to the position simply because it's been my experience in other forums. QBS then mentioned a scenario where someone might volunteer for the position and I offered Tiger and Lucky as nominees. Do I think this group needs a moderator? Absolutely not. It has been successfully without one for many years and more than likely will continue to be. The fact that the group runs smoothly without one speaks to the quality of the people participating. That's not to say, however, that having one couldn't offer benefits.

Now that I've hijacked my own thread, let me get back to the initial issue....
roro, nice suggestion about including the model code! That would be a very usefull bit of info. Then someone (a moderator perhaps??) might post a sticky with a brief description of the codes and meanings....... :angel:

[The Prophet of Doom]

Model codes are outlined in the Wikipedia entry.  It was all to hell, so I fixed the Euro/Australasian models, but it needs fixing for US, Canada and Japanese models. 
Wiki entries can be altered by anyone just by pressing edit so those with knowledge should do this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XZ_550

[Lucky]

Naw, you don't want me, i'd end up going all Al Haig, lol 

[fret not]

Haw haw!!! :laugh:  That's rich! ;)

[Rikugun]

Naw, you don't want me, i'd end up going all Al Haig, lol 

You know what they say, power corrupts and all that!  All kidding aside, my intent was not to advocate for a moderator but to be able to quickly see what year/model the poster was working on. Having that info in the avatar was just a suggestion and seems to have some support. Maybe there is a simple way to accomplish it. I don't know how these boards work but maybe a request is added to the confirmation email when someone joins? Have the model/year as a required field? A required reading sticky before posting outlining the addition to the avatar? Obviously the admin would have the final word. Is he no longer involved with V's and only a rare visitor to the site now? Someone here must have his ear though...

roro, I remember coming across the Wiki page when I first considered buying my V and was doing web research. I propably read the info and not knowing any better, took it at face value. It took your comment to (again) remind me not to believe everything I read. What a fascinating thing Wiki is where any huckalero who thinks they have knowledge can edit reference material! I mean, seriously, how can that possibly go wrong!? :o I'm not surprised you found the entry all mucked up!

[The Prophet of Doom]

Wiki is surprisingly accurate considering.  I guess more people want to see it correct than otherwise, and it's great for things like this bike where there are a lot of people each with a part of the information to hand, but it does need people to take an active interest.  I guess that's why there is more in Wiki about Angelina Jolie than on defining moments in world history.

I have updated my sig to read...

Year  Marketing Name  Model Year purchased
Modifications from stock
Town (State) Country


Hope others will do the same

[Mike Jacobs]

Please remember though there are a good DOZEN different models of the XZ, not just those that were marketed in the US.  model codes would be much more revealing than years.

Wow.   Who knew?

Is there a comparison chart or table someplace on the ROV site, or elsewhere?  I would be interested to compare all the model variations worldwide.   I especially like drooling over hardware that the makers, in their wisdom, saw fit would never darken the shores of the USA because they figured US riders were too clueless to appreciate it.  (Or maybe that was the Feds, in their lack of wisdom, keeping the good stuff offshore because it didn't meet US motor vehicle safety regs, yada yada).

Did any of those Visions anywhere come with wire-spoked wheels, though, or even the swoopy-curved-spoke alloy wheels such as some of the contemporary Yamaha cruiser models used?

I think my 1982 US model is an XZ550RJ.   Is that correct?

Yeah, I know, read the FAQ.   It's probably all in there.   If it is, don't bother to reply, I'm going there next.

[The Prophet of Doom]

Read Wiki for a model breakdown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XZ_550